Another Housing Bill In The Works
Senate Democrats planning this month to address the troubled housing market with yet another housing bill. A tax break for home builders and higher caps on state mortgage-revenue bonds are among the proposals. Top Democrats said they intend to turn to a second package focused on housing-related matters, a potent political issue this election year.
Despite the bipartisan aura that sped passage of the first housing stimulus bill, some parts of this one are likely to draw criticism from Republicans, especially a change in bankruptcy law that would allow judges to alter the terms of certain mortgages. Some of Senate Democrats’ proposals are popular in both parties, such as a tax break allowing companies with operating losses this year or the two previous years to apply them to past years for a refund. That could please home builders, who attacked the first bill.
